A crossing bar is a safety device intended to protect children from being struck while crossing in front of a school bus. Conventional school bus crossing arms are wire or plastic devices that rotatably extend from a front bumper on a passenger side of a bus while it is stopped for loading/unloading to form a barrier that prevents children from walking directly in front of the bus. The purpose of the device is that children needing to cross the road are encouraged to walk several feet forward of the front of the bus before beginning to cross the road, ensuring that the bus driver can see the children as they cross in front of the bus, avoiding a blind spot immediately in front of the bus. The crossing arm retracts flush against the bumper while not activated, such as when the bus is in motion and/or the passenger door is closed.
Existing crossing bar systems include a rectangular crossing bar. The rectangular crossing bar can collect debris, ice, and snow, for example, the additional weight causing the support brackets to weaken and the bar to sag over time. Many conventional crossing bar system do not include mechanisms for securing the crossing bar against the bumper when the crossing bar system is not activated and the bar is in a retracted/closed position. Other crossing bar systems may include a magnetic closure system that can be rendered ineffective when debris, ice, and snow, for example, build up on the crossing bar and/or the bumper of the bus. When used at night, it may be difficult for a bus driver to see the area below and around an extended crossing bar because the headlights of the bus are typically positioned above the crossing bar system.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application.